ENG vs IND 2nd Test Day 3 Session 1: Smith-Brook put England in command

Smith smashed 23 runs in an over of Prasidh Krishna, proving why England hold the youngster so dearly

Despite a fiery start from Indian bowlers, England—with the help of Jamie Smith and Harry Brook’s unbeaten 165-run stand for the sixth wicket—ended the first session with the scoreboard reading 249 for 5. They now trail India by only 338 runs in the first innings.

 

India started Day Three on a high as Siraj, in the second over of the day, removed Joe Root (22) and English skipper Ben Stokes (0) on back-to-back deliveries, increasing England’s misery by reducing them to 84 for 5. But just when it seemed like India had full control of the match, Jamie Smith and Harry Brook brought the fight to the Indian bowlers, scoring runs at a fiery pace to get the hosts back in the game. Both batters completed their fifties within the first hour of play as Indian bowlers once again looked off-colour. 

 

Prasidh Krishna, who after the first match said he conceded more runs than he wanted to, was once again one of the culprits. In one of his overs, Jamie Smith collected 23 runs with the help of four boundaries and a six. The impact of England’s counter-attack can be understood by the fact that by the time they lost their fifth wicket, their run rate was less than four, but by the time the drinks break came, it had surged. Smith continued the attack post-drinks and went on to score the joint fourth-fastest Test hundred for England just before the end of the session.

 

England added 172 runs in the first session to gain full control of the match. Jamie Smith (102 not out) and Harry Brook (91 not out) will be the two batters taking the crease again for England to start the second session. 

England scorecard at Lunch day 3: 

England 1st Inning
249-5 (47 ov) CRR:5.30
Batter	Dismissal	R	B	4s	6s	SR
Zak Crawley	c K Nair b M Siraj	19	30	3	0	63.33
Ben Duckett	c S Gill b A Deep	0	5	0	0	0
Ollie Pope	c KL Rahul b A Deep	0	1	0	0	0
Joe Root	c R Pant b M Siraj	22	46	2	0	47.83
Harry Brook	Not out	91	127	11	1	71.65
Ben Stokes (C)	c R Pant b M Siraj	0	1	0	0	0
Jamie Smith (WK)	Not out	102	82	14	3	124.39
Extras	15 (b 0, Ib 4, w 1, nb 10, p 0)
Total	249 (5 wkts, 47 Ov)
Bowler	O	M	R	W	NB	ECO
Akash Deep	11	1	59	2	4	5.36
Mohammed Siraj	12	2	49	3	4	4.08
Prasidh Krishna	8	0	61	0	0	7.63
Nitish Kumar Reddy	1	0	1	0	0	1
Ravindra Jadeja	10	1	48	0	2	4.8
Washington Sundar	5	0	27	0	0	5.4